Sometimes trying new restaurants and ending up with mediocre food can get discouraging, especially if it happens for more than a couple of consecutive days within the week! Having said that, there are quite a few Chinese restaurants in South Burnaby as well as New Westminster, but not many good ones that serve live seafood. Au Wing Kee is not the cleanest restaurant (similar to the Sing Kee level), Lui's Chinese as well as New Lakeview are average at best, and Lee Garden is great. But there is only one good restaurant?
Chong Lum Hin is located in New Westminster and according to a couple of BFs' clients, the dim sum is not bad. However, dinner? No one seems to have tried and there is not much information online. So after picking up some things from Metrotown, we decided to drop by.
Walking in, I was skeptical and assumed that Chong Lum Hin serves North Americanized Chinese food. There was a large table occupied by a Chinese family, and two tables with non-Asians. Plus, considering the area. As for the interior, there is nothing special and the restaurant looks old. I even remember a decade ago, the former restaurant was a Chinese buffet? We were given the option to seat anywhere by our friendly waitress and of course, went straight for a four person table.
WOR WONTON ($11.95).
I am not a big fan of wontons because of course, mothers makes them best. Fortunately though, on the three occasions that I have ordered wontons and blogged about, they were good! When we ordered the wor wonton, our waitress asked if we wanted to choose something else because the portion is huge. But, little did she know how much we eat… Either way, this is very appreciated especially at a Chinese restaurant.
By the way, the wonton soup really is huge and is a great value. The soup has a nice light chicken broth flavour and is easy on the MSG. As for the ingredients, there are plenty! There are halves of juicy Chinese mushroom, very tender pieces of chicken as well as squid, tender as well as flavourful barbecue pork (most I have tried in soup taste dry), fresh with a soft crunch broccoli, and plenty of large wontons. There is not just a variety of ingredients, but plenty of each.
Furthermore, I honestly do not even remember how many wontons we had but at least eight. The wontons are huge, the size of golfballs and taste very moist as well as juicy. The meat does tastes smooth as well as bouncy, but are very traditional so may disappoint those who want a bit of prawn in them. Personally, I loved them. Although I do wish they were a bit more bite sized than three bites. Most would prefer the larger size though.
3 1/4LB CREAM AND BUTTER SAUCE CRAB ($13.99/LB).
The crab is a bit heavy on the cornstarch and the exterior tastes slightly slimy. However, the crab is well executed. The meat tastes fresh, moist, stiff as well as loose, easily slips off the shell when cracked open, and perfect. As for the sauce, there is a creamy and buttery flavour and does not taste bad, but I could not really get through the slight gooeyness. Although there is better, this one is still a bit above average. As we were finishing the wonton soup, the cook kept peaking out of the kitchen and when the crab arrived, he did the same.
After starting on the crab, our waitress came over and asked if we wanted to finish the whole crab before the other dishes arrived. What? At a Chinese restaurant? Don't all the dishes arrive at once? I was very pleased with her asking and then understood why the cook was peaking out of the kitchen throughout dinner! But, I rather not have them wait on us and mentioned everything can arrive at once.
FRIED GREEN BEANS WITH SPICY MINCED PORK ($11.95).
For the choice of vegetables, we ordered the perfectly fried as well as crisp green beans. The green beans have a mild spiciness and although we could have had a medium or higher level, still tastes flavourful.
DEEP FRIED TOFU WITH SPICY SALT, SMALL ($6.95).
Already surprised with how good the previous dishes were, it did not end here. Every single piece of tofu is perfectly crisp, including the ones on the bottom. There is a flavourful peppery n' salt seasoning and the tofu tastes juicy. In addition, the cook uses fresh garlic rather than jarred and there is that extra nice flavour.
PINEAPPLE WITH SWEET AND SOUR DEEP FRIED PRAWNS ($13.95).
The last dish is the best item we ordered. The tiger prawns are nicely butterflied, taste meaty as well as juicy along with a nice snap, and have a crisp exterior. But, that is not just the best part. The sweet n' sour sauce tastes very tangy, not too sweet and has a good consistency. This is a must order! I usually find sweet n' sour sauces not tangy enough, but this one is perfect for me. Especially with the pineapple, very tart!
COMPLIMENTARY FORTUNE COOKIES.
With the bill, fortune cookies are provided and I like these because they are individually sealed! Asides from the sanitary reasons, the fortune cookies also taste fresh as well as crunchy and not stale.
TOTAL: $96.20 + TIP $18.80 =115.00.
Overall, I was very satisfied with Chong Lum Hin and the restaurant blew my mind. Honestly, I thought the food would be average at best but the dinner was great! Chong Lum Hin is better than many restaurants I have tried in Vancouver as well as Richmond, and our waitress was perfect. The service was a 5/5, which I rarely rate. She welcomed us when we walked in, provided extra plates on the table and changed plates for us (usually if plates are on the side, customers help themselves), asked if we wanted the dishes to come one by one, followed up with our food twice, cleared the table when needed, was friendly, and even said thank you as well as goodnight.
POSITIVES
- Great food
- Friendly owners and family
- Worth the travel for those in Coquitlam, South Burnaby and New Westminster
NEGATIVES
- For those who want a nicer atmosphere
LITTLE THINGS
- Cream and butter sauce (3/5)
- Sweet n' sour prawns (4/5)
Food: 3.5/5
Service: 5/5
ON THE SUBSEQUENT VISIT...
I enjoyed the food so much as well as the service, that we travelled from Marpole just to revisit! Those sweet n' sour prawns…! We actually revisited only a few days after the first, literally like within three days.
As much as I wanted to order the wor wonton again, I felt obligated to try something else and went for the hot n' sour. Before ordering, I wanted to confirm if the soup is actually "hot and sour" because when the flavours are bland, it is really not worth ordering. Our waitress reassured us it was and when the soup arrived, she even asked if it was sour enough and if we needed vinegar. Again like the previous visit, she was friendly as well as here to please.
HOT AND SOUR SOUP, SMALL ($6.95).
As for the soup, there are baby shrimp, wood ear mushrooms, preserved vegetables, scrambled egg and green onion. The consistency of the soup is good and there is a great tartness, along with a mild spiciness from the use of chilli flakes. We could have used a stronger spiciness but the soup tastes fine, although the both of us prefer the wor wonton more.
We ordered a lobster this time because I was not a fan of the crab on the previous visit, despite being well cooked. When we chose the cream and butter sauce again, our waitress mentioned we have tried the same sauce before and I like how she remembered, which provided us the opportunity to try a difference sauce if we wished. Fortunately though, we did not change the sauce because when the plate arrived, the sauce looked slightly darker than last time and I knew it would taste better. Why? Because of the addition of a house broth!
2 1/4LB CREAM AND BUTTER SAUCE CRAB ($17.99/LB)
The sauce tastes rich, creamy as well as buttery, and very flavourful. House broth aside, the sauce tastes more rich compared to the first visit. Honestly, one of the best I ever had. As for the lobster, it is perfect and just done. The meat pops out of the shell effortlessly and tastes tender as well as bouncy. Definitely one of the best lobsters I have had in a while and is on par with Shining Garden's.
EGGPLANTS IN SPICY CHILLI GARLIC SAUCE ($6.95).
Chong Lum Hin offers a late night menu after 9:00pm and we ordered a couple of dishes. The slices of eggplant are lightly battered and taste moist as well as juicy, not heavy on the oil one bit. In addition, the seasoning tastes flavourful and there are the usual salty, peppery and chilli flavours along with a nice spiciness, and is one of the better fried eggplants I have had. Furthermore, the restaurant also uses dried shrimp (which ain't cheap!) for that nice extra taste.
Another dish off the late night menu was either BFs choice of the dried oyster omelette or the cold plate. Personally, I do not understand the cantonese thing regarding having dried oyster omelettes… I really do not like them LOL so we went for the cold plate.
PORK HOCK COLD CUTS WITH JELLY FISH ($6.95).
Generally I find cold plates nothing special and the pork hock is meh, usually the slices of meat taste cold and boring. However, Chong Lum Hin's tastes great! The slices of meat are juicy as well as tender, and have a flavourful hint of shaoxing wine. As for the jelly fish, properly rinsed with a soft crunch and a clear as well as refreshing taste. Furthermore, there is not only a generic sesame oil flavour but also hint of chilli flakes as well.
PINEAPPLE WITH SWEET AND SOUR DEEP FRIED PRAWNS ($13.95).
Last up, a dish I declared as a must order is the sweet n' sour prawns. The sauce tastes consistent to the previous visit where there is a nice flavourful tanginess along with a light sweetness, and a good consistency. However, I noticed the prawns although butterflied… are slightly smaller. Nevertheless, the prawns are perfectly done.
TOTAL: $80.90 + TIP $14.10 = $95.00.
All in all, Chong Lum Hin is one family restaurant that I want to support. The owners (who are also the cooks) serve quality food and is one of the better Chinese restaurants. As for the waitress who seems to be related to the family as well, is friendly as well as welcoming. However, although I rated the service lower compared to the first visit, it really did not affect my experience. Honestly, just writing this post makes me excited because I want to try almost every on the menu LOL. The last regular Chinese restaurant of mine was Shining Garden and I am glad to add Chong Lum Hi to the list, despite not a convenience for me to get to at all.
POSITIVES
- Great value
- Quality ingredients
- Well executed dishes
- Friendly owners and staff
- One of the better Chinese restaurants
NEGATIVES
- Lobster is a bit pricey for this calibre of restaurant, but worth it in our case
LITTLE THINGS
- Open until 11:00pm
- Wonder how the dim sum is!
- Cream and butter sauce lobster (4.5/5)
- Lame that after we left, we felt like something was missing and we forgot to order the "sautéed pork slices with green beans"
Recommendations
- Wor Wonton
- Sweet and sour prawns
- Cream and butter sauce lobster (hopefully the sauce will be like the revisit…)
Food: 3.5/5
Service: 3.5/5
CLH has always been a bit hit or miss for me. It sure looks like things have improved. Definitely gotta give them another try. Great write-up, BTW!
ReplyDeleteYou're fast! I just posted lol.
DeleteDid you visit when the restaurant was busier? On both occasions, we visited during very slow times.
I've been a few times for lunch. It was always busy. The one time we went for dim sum it was packed! We got the last tiny table and had a so-so meal. I was gonna blog it but I figured it would be unfair because they were so overwhelmed. Thanks to you I've got good reason to go back!
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